


Fix It In Post

by oneatatime



Category: Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff
Genre: Multi, No actual sex, some swearing and sexual references, the mildest mention of Lee's past confusion over his sexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneatatime/pseuds/oneatatime
Summary: Tony's Bad Day includes Mason spiralling into his arms, Britney Spears' 'Toxic', and gleefully constipated spacemen.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Fix It In Post

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jenett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenett/gifts).



"There’s something here, in back of the confused spaceman suits, but I can't get close to it." 

Tony didn’t actually mind Jack being around, because the guy’d been helpful on a few occasions, but there were some things you couldn’t let slide. "You’re calling in the police now when there’s a something behind the - behind the what?"

Amy rolled her eyes at him so hard he was half surprised they didn’t fall out of her head. "You’re _supposed_ to call in the police when there’s a something. Serve and protect and all that jazz. And besides, he was here anyway."

"Because he’s your boyfriend." 

"Well, duh," she said, shrugging. 

"Confused spaceman," Jack picked up, pointing. "What would you call the expressions on those helmets?"

"'Gleefully constipated'?" Tony suggested, but the man had a point. What had wardrobe decided they needed _these_ things for?

Didn't matter, though, because there was the faint, faint sound of 'Toxic' by Britney Spears, and then Tony caught a glimpse of the strangest creature he'd ever seen in his life, which included the time Mason'd gotten drunk and wandered into a Taco Bell.

"Hey, we don't want to hurt you-" he called, and ran face first into some kind of invisible barrier. Great. So there was creepiness going on and he also couldn't even get in to talk to this being.

***

"You’re confident, right?" 

Tony nodded. Totally confident. As confident as a, uh, something that was really confident. He could do this. He’d bulled his way through others of Arra’s instructions and he’d come out whole enough (apart from the scar in one hand and the various wounds and the shoulder that always felt hinky when a Facts of Life marathon was about to start – okay, never mind, that was a bad thought track to take his thought train down, woo woo) (that was what a train said, right?). 

He gave Lee an earnest look, then went back to the computer screen. "This is what happens when you’re doing self-guided study. Sometimes you get things a little wrong, but you deal."

"Yeah, but there’s a difference between confusing ‘how are you’ and ‘good morning’ in Spanish and, I don’t know, filling Mason’s dressing room with peppermint-flavoured dildos." 

That. That had not been a good day. Tony scooted right on past the question of just how Lee’d known what they tasted of, and landed on, "This is the safest option we have. We don't know if it's harmful or not and we don't want to hurt it, just in case. Besides, you’re here. What’s the worst that could happen?"

Good boyfriend talk, right? Or whatever they were. He smiled up at Lee, pleased with himself about the reassurance, because he didn’t always get these things right, then he lifted the cup with the mixture of basil, tarragon, and Reese’s Pieces, and read the incantation from the screen. 

***

When the smoke cleared, he had Lee stuck to his side. 

Literally.

***

The worst part was how incredibly _embarrassing_ all of this was. 

The second worst part was how the muscle jumped in Henry's jaw when he left CB's office to find out what the hell was going on. Thing was, Tony didn't even know that Henry was in CB's office to start with. What'd they been doing? Discussing their growing relationship? Talking about the way the youth of today didn't listen? Painting their toenails? Painting each other's toenails? 

The third worst part was how Mason spiralled into his arms when Tony heard his fanclub scream at him. Mason. Who did not need protection from fans unless one of 'em had an actual knife, and even then he still found it charming. At least peeling Lee off himself'd had some pleasant elements to it. Peeling Mason off himself had only involved Mason threatening him with death if Mason ended up missing the afternoon's photoshoot with _For Him_ magazine, but CB and Henry had at least been distracted enough by all that to both a) help and b) not make Tony's life too much worse for the moment.

***

"You’re possessive of Mason, too?" Lee asked once they dealt with Mason and they'd regrouped in Raymond Dark's office with CB, Henry, Peter, Tina, and Adam, all closer to Tony than he really wanted, but it wasn't their fault. Jack was still out in the main office with Amy. Lee only sounded mildly amused, at least. Wasn’t like Lee’d completely taken leave of his senses and figured that Tony had an actual romantic interest in Mason. Tony might be suicidal, but he wasn’t _stupid._ Or, uh, vice versa.

Tony's response was supposed to be some kind of manly, calm statement, but it came out as more of a pathetic moan from where he'd flopped on the couch. "Can’t help it. When I go overboard, I go over-Goldie/Kurt-board."

The spell was supposed to hook him into an area. Make him protective of it, make him like their first line of warning that something was going on. Not plant a big metaphysical MINE on everyone's foreheads. 

"Mr Foster is exercising good judgement, given there is no Darkest Night without Mr Reed," Peter said, and while the words were reasonably calming, Peter’s presence about six inches off Tony’s left knee was making said knee practically burn. 

Adam contributed helpfully, "He’s like a little puppy who wants to nibble on someone’s shoe and sets the whole studio on fire instead."

"That metaphor’s lacking something," Tina murmured, checking her sides. They were done for the morning, but still had another six pages to get through before the end of the day. Without Mason.

Adam said, "Fix it in post?"

Peter nodded. "Fix it in post."

***

CB and Henry, who'd managed not to have to deal with each other since Tony'd gone and hooked everyone in the studio into his own soul, folded arms simultaneously and inspected each other. There was some weird kind of electrical push between them, which was extra weird because they'd been getting on well lately (too well, again the painted toenails image just sprang to mind, which was really great of it!), then they both relaxed. CB absently waved a hand at the writers' room door, and it closed. 

Tony exhaled. Good. Last thing he needed was for two of the biggest pillars in his life to be at odds. Well, last thing he needed was that image of Lee waving around a peppermint-flavoured dildo, but this would’ve been bad, too. He knew the basics about how Henry’d had to leave Victory when she became a vampire, because the combination of one type of vampiric possessiveness and another woulda made the entire city implode or something, worse than when the redhead quit the Spice Girls. He didn't need that kind of grief here. Not on his turf. 

Wow. Why didn't he just yank down his jeans and have a (metaphorical, shut up Amy) pissing match with his turf. 

Some of these alpha possessiveness shebangs were eternal. CB and Henry had resolved their own alpha possessiveness shebang with one of those weird wordless discussions that sometimes happened between super powerful, supernatural beings, and Henry. 

"So what exactly is going on?" Amy asked, one hand over the receiver. She raised her eyebrows at Tony, then turned to Henry. "Maybe someone who actually knows what’s going on can tell me?" 

"He is simply a little overprotective, magically speaking," Henry said mildly, and again that muscle jumped in his jaw, but at least there was no actual laugh. Tony ignored that muscle as hard as he could. "He is linked to this place somewhat as a cat would be."

Tony made a face. Certain vampires really could've made that sound cooler. 

Amy flipped Tony off with a black and pink ‘Hello Kitty’ fingernail. "If you pee on my shoes, I’ll stab you with a pencil." 

"That’s not so bad," Tony scoffed. 

"Didn’t say where I’d stab you. -Madam, I said please hold." 

Jack snickered.

***

"CB, you don't need to-"

"This is my studio, Mr Foster, and I need to do what I need to do to keep it running. Time is money," CB informed him, and when CB spoke in that particular gravelly tone, especially with Henry by his side very carefully shutting up (no one could not-speak the way that Henry could not-speak), then Tony just surrendered. Wasn't like this was the first time that people'd gotten involved in wizardly business without him wanting them to. So he very surreptitiously kept himself in front of the little pack heading for the spacesuits. At least Amy wasn't here with them, even though that meant - shit, where was Amy? Phones, right? Rachel wasn't back yet?

"Mis-ter Fo-ster?" 

Tony held his hand in front of himself, ready for a Powershot at the first sign of trouble. He wasn't about to shoot for the hell of it, not when he could seriously hurt someone, but weird things at the studio usually meant trouble with a capital Troub. He wanted to be able to deal with trouble with a capital Troub.

"No, wait." 

Amy. Standing between him and the threat. Eyes wide, trying to placate. Oh, fuck, oh, no, not again. Amy was possessed? This was really, REALLY fucking unfair. At least it wasn't Lee again this time, but he felt bad about even thinking that. Lee deserved better. He was coming to terms with his sexuality not being what he'd thought it was, and he was trying to be good to Tony. But Amy didn't deserve it, either, and she was also good to Tony (and yeah, her version of good to Tony meant insults and sarcasm, but to be fair his version of good to Amy was the same). 

Tony liked it when people wanted to be good to Tony. 

No one deserved to have a VACANCY sign hung on the back of their head.

Huh.

Tony looked closer.

Wizards saw what was there, right?

This was Amy. Not someone else wearing an Amy suit. 

Tony let his hand drop. 

"I'm listening," he said quietly.

"I don't think this is someone harmful."

 _I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxiiiiiiiic...._ swam through the air behind him. 

Tony peered around Lee's shoulder, because Lee was standing way too close, and that was one of the weirder parts of an already weird day. Lee being 'too close'. The creature standing there had long, blonde hair, sensuous red lipstick, and at least six feet. Possibly eight, or seven and a half. 

"Hi," he said warily. 

"Hello," CB said, shifting forward. "I understand you have an interest in show business." 

Then an invisible barrier slammed down in front of Tony's face. He swore, swore again as he couldn't shift it by heaving, then he tried a Powershot and fell backwards into Henry's arms, dizzy and sick.

CB was still there, with Amy. Talking to the creature.

"How am I supposed to protect people when they won't let me!"

Henry gave him the driest possible look, and Tony sighed, taking his point. "Listen to them, Tony."

Lee had his ear pressed to the barrier. "Yeah, I don't think it's all that bad."

CB's voice was vaguely audible. He stood on the dusty concrete in the small cramped space, surrounded by a bunch of costumes crammed onto racks, with Amy next to him expertly taking shorthand notes with a stub of pencil and half a notebook, looking utterly immaculate and utterly in control. "We all enjoy show business, Britney. If you wish to continue inhabiting my studio, then..."

"Th-ank you. I en-joy sing-ing."

"And you will not hurt anyone."

"No, of course! Want sing. See peo-ple. No hurt I."

***

"More ice?" Lee asked, flopping down next to him. 

Tony took the bag gratefully and applied it to his temple. It wasn't the throbbing so much as the throbbing just now. "It was good that Britney was so willing to help out as long as she got somewhere to sleep and all the concrete she can eat. I think the idea of charging for tours was helpful. Hey, maybe we can get enough money to get me a desk?" 

Lee laughed. "Maybe a chair, somewhere, but don't hold your breath. How's the headache about talking to Peter tomorrow, and the headache about getting Henry to boss you out of the protectiveness spell?"

"Those ones are gonna be a doozy and a doozy's grandpa," Tony groaned. 

"Well, you can hole up in here on my chairs any time you want," Lee promised him, and he leaned over and brushed his lips very lightly across Tony's temple. 

It hurt. It was wonderful, too. 

Insert some kind of maudlin, cliched, comment here about how much he loved the pain and joys of his life, right? He wasn't sure how to phrase it...

He could fix it in post.


End file.
